Woman Becomes First Person Convicted Under Animal Cruelty Porn Law

Woman Becomes First Person Convicted Under Animal Cruelty Porn Law

Apparently there is a genre of porn called ‘crush’ porn, where animals are tortured and killed for people’s viewing pleasure.

One woman in Houston, Texas, has become the first person to be convicted under a new anti-animal crush porn law, Vice reports.

Ashley Nicole Richards, 24, pleaded guilty in federal court to four counts of producing and one of distributing obscene videos. In these videos she would wear a Mardi Gras-style mask while she tortured animals, uttering phrases intended to turn viewers on.

Incredibly, in the past convicting the people who make these videos has been both complex and controversial, as some people have even argued that they should be protected under their right to free speech.

The more sickening videos of animals being tortured and killed are known as ‘hard crush’, whereas there are less brutal videos out there featuring objects like balloons, toys or food being destroyed, which are known as ‘soft crush’.

Richards was found to have starred in disgusting videos showing her hacking a pit bull with a meat cleaver, severing its head, and then urinating on the dead body. She also featured in clips where she would step on a cat’s eye with heels and burnt a dog with a cigarette.

She was caught after PETA tipped off the Houston Police Department to the videos. Sentencing is due on December 10, but as well as the five federal charges she pleaded guilty to – each carry a potential seven-year prison sentence, and potential $250,000 (about £160,000) fine. She also pleaded guilty to three charges of distributing crush porn in state court, for which she was given a decade-long sentence.